Arctic Cotton Grass

Description:

They are herbaceous perennial plants with slender, grass-like leaves. The seed heads are covered in a fluffy mass of cotton which are carried on the wind to aid dispersal. In cold arctic regions these masses of translucent fibres also serve as 'down' - increasing the temperature of the reproductive organs during the arctic summer by trapping solar radiation.

Habitat:

They are found throughout the temperate Northern Hemisphere in acid bog habitats, being particularly abundant in Arctic tundra regions.